University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Begin Monday at Fayetteville
February 15, 2002 | Men's Swimming & Diving
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Tennessee's swimming and diving team travels to the the Southeastern Conference Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., as a top contender for the conference title. The 2001 SEC Championships begins Feb. 18 with the diving competition and runs through Feb. 23.
Head coach John Trembley brings a young and talented Vol squad to challenge for the championship of America's toughest swimming and diving conference.
The Volunteers currently rank tops in the conference in the 200 breast (Andrew Bree), 200 medley relay, one-meter (Phillip Jones), three-meter (Phillip Jones) and the 14 dive platform (Sal Vilardo).
Tennessee co-captains Jeremy McDonnell and Justin Hoggatt look to improve on last year's performance. McDonnell will be defending his 100 breaststroke crown, while Hoggatt looks to win the 100 fly after finishing second last year. The Volunteers also captured the 200 medley relay as well as the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays.
In the diving well, Phillip Jones competes in his first ever SEC Championships. Jones has yet to dive in a collegiate meet without winning either the one-meter competition, the three-meter or both. UT has won 10 SEC championships and finished runner-up 12 times. The Vols placed second a year ago and last won the title in 1996.
UT Ranked Fifth Nationally
Tennessee is now the fifth-best team in the country according to the College Swim Coaches Association of America Top 25 Poll. The Vols opened the season ranked fourth and moved to fifth after a tough second-place finish in the Dallas Morning News Classic. The Vols were ranked as high as No. 2 in 2001. The Volunteers finished third at the 2001 NCAA Championships, and have finished among the top 10 in the nation in 13 of the last 14 seasons with a high of third coming last season.
UT at SEC Championships
Tennessee has won 10 Southeastern Conference Championships since the pool program returned to Knoxville in 1968. The most recent title came in 1996 as UT played host to the championships and treated the Student Aquatic Center crowd to a school record 846 team points. The 1996 title was the second as a coach for Vol skipper John Trembley, who led the 1989 squad to championship in his first season as coach in 1989. The Vols first SEC crown came in 1969 when legendary coach Ray Bussard took his second team, consisting of freshmen and sophomores, to the top of the conference. After a pair of runnerup finishes in 1970 and 1971, Bussard put together a string of seven consecutive conference titles from 1972-1978.
Undefeated Season
Tennessee's 11-0 record stands as the 15th undefeated season since the program's resurrection in 1968. The total of 11 wins is the second highest since 1988, when UT finished with a 12-1 record. The Vols only competed in one invitational meet this season and placed second. Tennessee has finished undefeated in both dual and invitational meets in the 1991, 1997 and 2001 seasons.
